Principal Clinical Psychologist - Neurodiversity

Devon Partnership NHS Trust; Exeter; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Job summary

Child Family Health Devon (CFHD) is the place to be! Our services for children and young people are transforming. We are developing an innovative, integrated model of childrens community services and are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our friendly and dedicated pathways. Come and join us in beautiful Devon!

Our Neurodiversity Pathway is a newly developing, innovative community pathway for children and young people and their families where the presenting mental health need relates to neurodevelopmental conditions.

We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic colleague to join us as a Principal Clinical Psychologist (0.8 WTE) on a fixed term basis of one year, to cover maternity leave. You will work collaboratively with the Operational Managers across our three localities in Devon to jointly lead this friendly and highly skilled multi-disciplinary pathway. Location within Devon is flexible.

Its an exciting time of change in CFHD as we mobilise needs-led pathways under an iThrive framework. We are passionate about our work and are committed to providing high quality services across Devon to improve outcomes for children and young people.

We would love to hear from experienced colleagues who can bring complex assessment and diagnostic skills, advanced level clinical thinking and formulation, skills in supervision and consultation and compassionate leadership to this progressive pathway at an exciting time of development.

Main duties of the job

This post can be offered as a secondment opportunity for Internal candidates

As Principal Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, you will work jointly with Operational Leads in the Neurodiversity Pathway, as well as providing lead contributions to service developments across CFHD.

You will bring advanced skills to offer high-quality psychological input. This will include complex assessment, formulation and diagnostic thinking, intervention and consultation. You will support the development of integrated work across pathways to support consistent, uninterrupted experiences of care.

You will bring strong supervisory skills. You will have proven experience working positively with inter-agency colleagues.

There will be CPD opportunities specific to your pathway and to further progress your leadership capabilities.

You will join a growing network of clinical leaders in CFHD who will be your peers, your phone a friend network and your inspiring colleagues. As part of a collaborative structure of leadership, you will be well supported as you work together with colleagues to lead forward high-quality care.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Neurodiversity Pathway is a developing integrated pathway within CFHD. The Pathway provides specialist assessment and intervention for children and young people and their families where the presenting need relates to neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Tics and Tourette Syndrome. Each locality has a Neurodiversity Team within the Pathway. The Principal Clinical Psychologist will also have county-wide responsibilities, which means the base can be flexible dependent on the needs of the postholder, so long as service needs can be met.

You will be a qualified Clinical Psychologist with notable post-qualifying experience, passion and strengths for working with neurodiverse children, young people and their families. You will have strong clinical leadership skills, bringing a compassionate framework to join others in leading forward this innovative pathway.

You will have the knowledge and skills in neurodiversity and mental health to undertake complex assessments and deliver evidence-based and outcome monitored psychological therapies as well as supporting others in this work.

You will be committed to service user participation and collaborative working with children, young people, parents, carers and families. You will have a good understanding of safeguarding across the lifespan.

You will be a reflective practitioner with strengths to bring to a multi-disciplinary team. You will have advanced skills and knowledge to support the development of others through supervision, consultation and training.

The integrated team will bring together a variety of multi-disciplinary colleagues including Clinical Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Systemic Psychotherapy, and Mental Health Practitioners from a diverse range of backgrounds. This provides an opportunity to work in a team with a strong multidisciplinary ethos as well as collaborating with colleagues in other pathways and working in partnership with other agencies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• A Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent e.g. Masters level qualification in Clinical Psychology if qualified before 1996.
• Active registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC
• Post qualification training in supervision.
• Post qualification training or proven equivalent experience in leadership or management
• Post qualification specialist therapy/assessment training relevant to children and young people

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivering effective evidence-based, outcomes-informed psychological therapy interventions with children, young people and families, including risk assessment and risk management
• Experience of working collaboratively with service users and their families/carers, including shared decision making and the use of both clinician and patient rated outcome measures
• Experience of working collaboratively within multi-disciplinary services and across organisational boundaries
• Experience of working with a wide variety of child mental health problems, across the whole age range, reflecting all levels of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems
• Experience of obtaining service user feedback and data to improve outcomes and services
• Experience in teaching, training and assessing in clinical practice.
• Experience of safeguarding children and ensuring the safety of young people in partnership with other agencies as appropriate.
• Experience of using an equality and diversity framework in clinical, supervisory and leadership practice
• Experience of initiating, chairing, attending and contributing to multi-professional and interagency meetings.
• Experience of working as an autonomous individual, taking on responsibility, making decisions and seeking support as needed.
• Experience of providing clinical supervision, undertaking appraisals, developing job plans, recruitment, managing performance, absence and staff development.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Frequent requirement to travel across Devon
• Highly developed ability to integrate complex clinical information into a coherent formulation and share this with others including service users and professionals
• The ability to work as an autonomous senior clinician, make decisions under pressure and seek support as appropriate.
• The ability to communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with children and young people, parents, carers and others as appropriate, conveying information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning assessment, clinical formulation and treatment, at times during emotionally difficult situations
• The ability to present complex, often sensitive information in a variety of formats, both written and verbal, in a professional, clear and organised manner, including public speaking to a range of audiences

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

Devon Partnership NHS Trust
Address

Children & Family Health Devon

Bittern Road

Sowton Industrial Estate

Exeter

EX2 7FW

Employer's website